Sailor's Promise
by poil333
Summary: A tiny base in the middle of nowhere, meant for guarding convoy routes, and staffed by US shipgirls who shouldn't exist, is about to receive reinforcements from the JMSDF's kanmusu program. There's plenty to go wrong, and plenty to go right. A lot of things go wrong before they go right. (New chapter in the works)
1. Chapter 1

As a quick note, the OC ships of this story can be blamed on playing a mobile game called Naval Front-Line (Disclaimer: which isn't mine). It lets you name ships and refit them as you see fit, so that's the cause of the unusual naming conventions for the girls of Carter's fleet, and the strange load-outs.

Kantai Collection isn't mine in any way shape or form. Hell, I don't even get to play it.

I also apologize for the nature of this chapter, but I feel it would be best to get character introductions like this out of the way right from the start.

Reviews and feedback appreciated.

* * *

Admiral Jacob Carter considered himself lucky. His posting was a rather quiet one, Rotuma, a little outpost among the multitude of islands in the South Pacific, with only six vessels to worry about. The only major quirks concerning his posting were the skewed number of large ships compared to smaller ones like destroyers, and the fact that none of his ships technically should never have even been summoned. Hell, they never even existed in the first place. None of the girls on Carter's base had names which matched any known US Naval vessel of World War Two or earlier, or even the years immediately after. Most didn't even follow normal naming convention. Of course, this all relied upon the assumption they weren't lying about who they are, but there didn't seem to be any signs pointing to that being the case. They all belonged to a real class though, and their rigging and fighting abilities were real enough for the Navy to decide even their strange problem children of unknown origin were worth posting somewhere, preferably somewhere without real shipgirls who usually had looks of disgust or confusion when seeing them.

In no particular order, the girls of Carter's base are as follows:

Midlothian, aka Midi

Midi is apparently a _Pensacola_ -class cruiser who had somehow ended up with a massive remodel neither real _Pensacola_ was ever even considered for receiving, a remodel which was never applied to any ship ever, and was never planned. Carter had even mistaken her for a _Portland_ or _New Orleans_ -class cruiser upon first meeting her, on account of her three 3-gun turrets, rather than two 3-gun and two 2-gun turrets, and her armor layout, but her superstructure was unmistakably that of a _Pensacola._ Differences in the arrangement of her 5-inch 25-caliber dual-purpose guns also pointed to her true class origin. Needless to say, she still throws most everyone for a loop by appearance alone. If one looks closely enough, they'll even notice her turrets are of the type mounted on cruisers from _New Orleans_ onward. She had sacrificed some of her speed in the remodel, but was still capable of breaking 31 knots.

Midi is quite businesslike in her manner and dealings, preferring to get straight to the point, perhaps to a degree which some would stereotypically American, but still somehow manages to sound rather professional, is not polite. Carter prefers to see it as her "cutting through the crap", and while he hasn't ever officially announced who his secretary ship is, everyone on base knows Midi is a forgone conclusion. Perhaps the only reason Carter doesn't make Midi his secretary officially is that she's too damn good in a fight to take her off the line.

Autumn

A standard _Baltimore_ -class cruiser as far as anyone can tell, Autumn is a bit out of the loop in a way which can better be called air-headed rather than anything else. Her performance in battles is most often dependent upon how well someone else can point her in the right direction at what needs to die. Fortunately, once she has her directions, she performs quite spectacularly. Some even joke her air-headed nature is connected to the manner in which she seems to float around the dangers of the battlefield, quite unlike most ships of her size. Maybe the idea that danger is only dangerous when perceived has some sort of real effect for her. Whatever the cause, some of the girls on base are tempted to treat Autumn a bit like a fire and forget missile, both on and off the battlefield, which occasionally results in all sorts of trouble. Not that Autumn seems to mind. As far as Carter can tell, she's just happy so long she thinks she's being helpful. This does make him worry that one day an Abyssal princess will ask Autumn a favor and she'll end up obliging.

Cole

Cole is an active little firebrand, a _Gearing_ -class destroyer who wants everyone to be aware of just how awesome the _Gearing_ -class was, even if she does make the mistake of mixing in _Allen M Sumner_ -class achievements to the _Gearing_ -class repertoire. Despite her ,"live fast, die young, take many with you", nature, which can reasonably be blamed on being an American tin can, Cole isn't stupid. As the only destroyer on Carter's post, she's had to learn how to fight smart, at pain of death if she screws up. Fortunately, she at least has Mark 15 torpedoes, with all problems corrected from the get go, unlike some of the US Navy's destroyer girls who arrived with unreliable Mark 15s of the early war period. It has to be said, that smart Cole may be, but intelligence and maturity do not come hand-in-hand. She still has the youthful energy and personality, with all the ups and downs which come with it, of most destroyers, no matter their navy of origin.

Her name did lead to the most head-scratching of all the ships who ended up assigned to Carter, as the USS _Cole_ was a _Wickes_ -class destroyer, as well as an _Arleigh Burke_ certain infamy, and a destroyer escort by the name of _William C Cole_. Despite following the naming convention of US destroyers, Cole clearly was neither of those vessels, and as far as the navy could tell, was of the same category as the other ships of Carter's fleet. Hopefully there wasn't some kind of paperwork screw up.

Horizon

All signs point to Horizon being an _Alaska_ -class large cruiser/battlecruiser (that's a debate we'll leave for another day). According to reports available to Carter, the two known _Alaska_ -class ships, Alaska and Guam, share a common trait of being rather awkward and unsure of themselves, something Horizon has herself. Supposedly the trait is based upon how little action the capital ships ever saw before being decommissioned and scrapped. Horizon performs well in combat with the proper encouragement from her admiral, living up to her class's nature of being the ultimate cruiser-killers, but reigning her in to remain cautious when encountering battleships is a necessity which Carter has taken note of, as she can become quite aggressive. Her aggression on the battlefield tends to extend into most other things she applies herself to, and she can be surprisingly competitive about rather petty things from time to time.

Everest

Most likely a _North Carolina_ -class battleship, Everest isn't shy about showing off her strength. It would be best to keep her away from any of the _Kongou_ -class ships if they ever pass through Carter's base during an operation, as she's likely to try to assert her dominance in some manner which isn't socially acceptable outside of the bedroom. Midi has indicated that Everest is quite the pervert when the Admiral isn't around, and in a manner directed towards other shipgirls, rather the admiral as some are prone to being. With Horizon being one of the only ships on base capable of remotely similar displays of strength, her attention is often directed towards trying to figure out some way to get the large cruiser/battlecruiser into bed with her. She does occasional try for Midi at times as well, but the smaller cruiser seems to somehow be capable of suitably disciplining Everest when she tries.

Endeavor

Where Midi is mature in a professional manner, Endeavor is mature in motherly, or at least parental manner. She is believed to be of the _Nevada_ -class, making her the "oldest" of the shipgirls present at Admiral Carter's base. She prefers to live life at a moderate pace, in line with her being part of the Standard-class battleships. The low maximum speed she possess precludes her from the operations Carter's fleet does engage in most of the time, and she has taken to managing the domestic and logistical side of keeping the base running, similar to the manner in which Midi assists with administrative paperwork. In the cases when even Midi's "tender ministrations" cannot enforce discipline, the threat of incurring Endeavor's motherly wrath generally serves to end the problem.

USS Ajax

Last, but certainly not least, is Ajax, second ship of the _Vulcan_ -class repair ships, and the only shipgirl on Carter's base with a historical predecessor. She's a tinkerer and inventor at heart, so just being around shipgirls who aren't bound by strange limitations regarding their potential in remodeling, as Midi has already shown, is something she considers to be an honor and a privilege. Like most repair vessels assigned to a base, she performs the usual roles of assisting with equipment upgrades, repairs, remodeling, and day to day maintenance. While rather unlikely to occur, she holds a dream that one day Vestal, Akashi, or Yuubari will pass through the tiny backwater she's been assigned to.

* * *

A slight creak of the hinges on the door of Admiral Carter's office and quiet footsteps bring the officer's attention away from his paperwork, and to his de facto secretary ship. She wears her usual ensemble of a blue uniform jacket with a black sailor collar, a navy blue pleated skirt reaching her mid thighs, opaque black tights, black fingerless gloves, and a pair of low-heeled boots rising just over her ankles. Her chestnut hair is pulled back into a low ponytail angled slightly to her right, reaching just under armpit level.

"Admiral, sir, CINCP- er, USPACOM just delivered the latest report regarding the upcoming arrival of the JMSDF task force."

Yes, there was the most pressing matter to attend to. A small force of kanmusu from the JMSDF was scheduled to arrive in the coming days to set up shop at Rotuma. It was apparently going to be a force of destroyers and light cruisers, to compensate for the lack of ships in those classes present at the base. While normally there was a degree of tension between American shipgirls and Japanese kanmusu, it was hoped the peculiar nature of Carter's girls would partially mitigate that problem.

"What's the news, Midi?"

"Two vessels have been confirmed to be on their way as part of the escort group for a convoy which will delivering supplies here while passing through," Midi relays in her usual businesslike manner. "Destroyers Fubuki and Akebono, both of the Fubu- correction, one of the Fubuki class, the other of the Ayanami class." She pauses. "It seems future selection of vessels will take into account the desire to increase the torpedo capabilities of the forces stationed here."

Carter steeples his hands, resting his elbows on the desk. "That will certainly provide a boost to night battle capabilities, especially if we can figure out a way to link the fire control radars into creating a firing solution for torpedoes," he muses.

"I'll see if I can arrange practice and experimentation sessions to get a working system together with Cole," Midlothian says, scribbling down a quick note. "The convoy and our arriving destroyers are expected to arrive within the next forty-eight hours."

"Good, right on schedule."

The rest of the meeting consists of more mundane matters, such as food, housing, baths, and resources. Housing is simple enough, with only a single building needed to house everyone, even with the addition of up to a matching number of kanmusu. Food is of slightly more concern, but can easily enough be solved with a fortification of the staff allotted to the mess hall. Baths will be able to continue operating as usual, so long as the number of damaged ships does not rise above fifty percent of ships on base. An expansion of the bath house may be a worthwhile investment in the future though. Resources will have to kept more carefully monitored. Without a dedicated expedition fleet, Rotuma has always relied on periodic resupply from passing convoys, allocated by the US Navy. Hopefully, the vessels being sent by the JMSDF will have low resource consumption.

"Make sure the girls are squared away before our new arrivals get here. I want to make a good first impression."

"Of course, Admiral, I'll get right on it." She straightens her stance, preparing to excuse herself to perform her duties, but is interrupted by a final few words from Admiral Carter.

"And Midi?"

"Yes, Admiral?"

Carter removes his glasses and rubs the bridge of his nose, speaking with a suddenly tired voice. "Please, try to keep Everest from trying to 'assert her dominance' over any of new arrivals."

Midi is silent for several seconds, her expression betraying little emotion. "... I'll do what I can, sir, as will Endeavor."

"Thank you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Had a bit of a surprise seeing how quick the views started stacking up, so I pushed myself to produce this one. Didn't feel forced though, and I enjoyed writing it, so I guess that's a good sign.**

 **KanColle isn't mine. I wish it was though. Then I could claim all the girls belonged to me. But I can't. TT^TT**

 **C.F.W.23: The uniform jacket, similar to the one worn by the _Northampton-_ class cruisers from the KanColle Pacific fan works are going to be a common element across the USN girls, at least for Carter's girls. As for chain of command differences, the biggest one I can think of off the top of my head was the way USN destroyers and DesDivs had a direct line to the admiral if needed, whereas IJN destroyers communicated only with their DesDiv commander. Essentially that's also the reason why destroyers in KanColle use "Commander", rather than "Admiral".**

* * *

"Shitty Admiral, sending us off to some American base because he doesn't want to deal with us anymore..."

Name-ship of her class and "mother of modern destroyers", Fubuki, could only make a small nervous laugh to herself as she listened to Akebono's angry tirade. To her, the transfer to the tiny base at Rotuma was a personal insult, or at least that's the way most people would think she was taking it. To Fubuki, the transfer was just a necessary part of the war effort. She was also capable of reading between the lines of Akebono's complaining. The famously sharp-tongued destroyer was more angry about being sent away from her division mates than anything else. For all her words tried to say otherwise, Akebono did care about other people, even her "shitty Admiral".

Both destroyers are escorting a convoy on the return leg of its journey from Japan, back to the United States. It only bears a small load of equipment important for keeping kanmusu operations running, which it will deliver to Rotuma before rendezvousing with an Australian escort group. Neither kanmusu knows what kind of reception will be waiting for them at the American base. Fubuki is especially worried Akebono's way with words might get the two of them into trouble. The last thing which needs to is Akebono calling a foreign flag officer, "shitty Admiral". Disciplinary actions over something like that would be a stain for the rest of their careers, and for Akebono, an additional complaint by an ally, on top of the several which have already been made, could mean an end to any meaningful service as a kanmusu.

Still, with the small island of Rotuma, only about twice of the size of Iwo Jima, now visible in the distance, it means their journey is almost at an end. Now the main concern is how well the Americans will receive former enemies. Fubuki had heard the shipgirls, as Americans called them, at Rotuma were strange, which initially didn't set off any alarm bells. There were plenty of strange kanmusu and shipgirls in every navy which has them in service after all. But upon second thought, for a group of shipgirls to be called strange, in a manner where even other kanmusu were taken into account, did set Fubuki slightly on edge.

A short distance from the naval port established on the shores of Rotuma, Fubuki catches sight of two shipgirls waiting for them in the water. One, taller than the other, stands waiting with her arms crossed, while the shorter one sails in a lazy circle around the first. As the two Japanese kanmusu make their way towards the American shipgirls, they get a better view of their counterparts. The taller is a heavy cruiser, bearing three 3-gun 8-inch gun mounts, while the second is a destroyer, not one of the ubiquitous _Fletcher_ -class however, as the twin-mount 5-inch guns differentiate her from the mind-boggling number of _Fletcher_ s.

"Destroyers Fubuki and Akebono reporting, ma'am." Fubuki delivers her greeting with a sharp salute.

"At ease, and welcome to Rotuma. I'm Midlothian, heavy cruiser of the _Pensacola_ -class, and my companion is Cole, a destroyer of the _Gearing_ -class. You'll likely be working her Cole quite frequently during your stay here."

The destroyer, Cole, waves to Fubuki and Akebono as she makes another circuit in her loop around the trio in the middle. She wears a grey uniform jacket with a sailor collar, it's sleeves rolled up to just above her elbows, with a black pleated skirt which ends a bit before her mid thigh, just meeting the top of a pair of dark grey thigh high stockings which themselves extend down to meet a well worn pair of mid-calf boots. On her hands are a set of well-fitted work gloves, of the kind a mechanic might wear. Her dark brown hair is pulled back into a low folded ponytail, well out of the way of anything it may become tangled in.

Fubuki returns the gesture, silently relieved Akebono hasn't made her attitude known beyond a slightly sour expression. However, something about what Midlothian told her is bothering Fubuki. As far as she can remember, the _Pensacola_ -class has two twin and two triple turrets, and the cruiser in front of Fubuki certainly does not match that description. Being the way she is though, she opts to leave the matter alone for the time being.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Midlothian-san, Cole-san. We look forward to working with you."

"Speak for yourself," Akebono mutters under her breath, her expression souring further. "I don't look forward to working with any shitty Americans."

Fubuki desperately hopes Midlothian didn't overhear Akebono's comment, but she can see the way the cruiser's eyebrow raised slightly and her eyes shifted to glance at the recalcitrant destroyer. Fortunately, the American cruiser seems to let the comment slide for the time being, instead motioning for the Japanese kanmusu to follow her.

"You'll be assigned rooms in the main barracks as soon as possible, but you can stop by the mess hall before doing so if you need to resupply," Midlothian says as the groups begins the short trip to the base's docks.

"Thank you for your concern, Midlothian-san, but I believe we'll be fine for the time being regarding supplies. It would be rude to impose on the staff at such unusual hours like this."

"Your decision," Midlothian says with a small shrug. "Once we reach the docks, I'll be introducing the two of you to Endeavor. She's responsible for matters such as food, housing, and baths, so I'm sure she'll help the two of you get settled in quite quickly."

"We'll do our best to avoid imposing on anyone, right, Akebono?"

And just about then was where everything went wrong, as they took their first steps onto the dry ground of Rotuma.

* * *

The sound of his office door opening and closing tells Admiral Carter that Midlothian has returned to deliver her report regarding the new arrivals. The further sound of chair legs scraping a bit on the floor tells Carter that Midi has taken a seat, something which only means trouble if past experience is anything to go by.

"What's the problem this time?" Carter asks, without looking up from his current sheet of paperwork.

"Cole and Akebono." The response is toneless and delivered with the voice of someone who is mentally exhausted.

"Figures. I heard Akebono had a bit of an attitude from a friend in Yokosuka. What happened?" Carter continues to handle his paperwork.

Midi sighs before speaking. "First sign of trouble was Akebono showing up with a face whcih looked like someone had spit in her porridge. I'd heard about her attitude also, but I didn't expect it to become a problem before we even made it off the wharf." She pauses to take a deep, calming breath. For all her professional demeanor, Midi has only ever had to handle the spell contingent of shipgirls at Rotuma. The sudden arrival of new personnel is sure to end up taking a bit of a toll on her in the future.

"I don't need to hear any more, Midi, just tell me where they are," Carter says, cutting off any continuation of the story. "Conflicts between shipgirls, especially in cases like this, should be handled by commanders."

Midi stands suddenly, her expression slightly panicked. "But, Admiral, sir, I can-"

"Midi. Relax. Take a deep breath. Just calm down, and handle that paperwork for a bit, okay? It still needs the signature from the secretary ship." Carter states in a manner which is both forceful and gentle, handing Midi several sheets of partially filled out papers. "Besides, now is a perfect time to stretch my legs a bit."

* * *

"I'll show you shitty, you bitch! Just wait till I'm pumping you full of five-inch shells!"

Horizon, large cruiser of the _Alaska_ -class, lets out a forlorn sigh. Her hopes for a nice calm day had been ruined, less by the arrival of the Japanese kanmusu, and more by the fight which had kicked off on the wharf.

"Goddamit, Horizon! Get off of me! I need to beat that bitch senseless!"

Horizon's seat squirms and wiggles to escape from under the weight of the 30 thousand ton large cruiser sitting atop her, but to no avail. Her desperate struggles are as much in vain as Akebono's, who has found herself firmly wedged underneath a 17 thousand ton heavy cruiser. Autumn, who was simply doing as Horizon had asked, wears a puzzled look on her face. Clearly, she was doing what Horizon had wanted her to do, and Cole did seem to approve of her seat's predicament, but her seat itself certainly wasn't pleased if the amount of foul language was anything to go by. Still, two out of three is good enough for Autumn, so she remains seated until told otherwise. Well, two out of four, but the second Japanese destroyer seems to be too mortified to deliver her opinion of the current situation.

"I wish Endeavor was here right now," Horizon says wistfully. "She'd end this right away."

"Wasn't Midi down here when it started?" asks Autumn, her eyes wandering to an Albatross passing overhead.

"She was, but this was all a bit overwhelming for her," interjects a new voice, amid the shouting and cursing from the seats/destroyers.

Both Horizon and Autumn rocket to their feet, jumping to attention and saluting Admiral Carter who has only just made his presence known. Cole has the sense to cease her tirade and join the cruisers, while the presence of the commanding officer of the base brings Fubuki back to her senses and she delivers a salute of her own. Only Akebono, who rises to her feet at her own pace, still muttering curses about the, "shitty Americans", and their, "shitty base", doesn't react in the proper manner, instead adding the classic, "shitty Admiral", to her dark muttering as well.

"As you were. No, I don't mean go back to sitting on them." Carter's expression betrays a hint of amusement as he has to preempt the cruisers from reclaiming their "seats". "Now then, what's the problem here?" The question is pointedly delivered with Carter's gave boring in the side of Akebono's head, who continues to sulk while refusing to face the Admiral. That minor problem is solved by Fubuki, who manhandles Akebono into proper position despite the _Ayanami_ -class's protests.

For several moments, the surrounding shipgirls observe a silent standoff between their admiral, and the destroyer with a bad attitude.

Akebono cracks first.

"I didn't want to be separated from my division mates and sent to some shitty base in the middle of nowhere..." she mumbles out, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"I see. And what did you say to get Cole so worked up?"

"I said she was a shitty destroyer who can't do her job." The response is more energetic this time, with some of the energy being used to still make it a jab at Cole, who is restrained by Horizon's hand on her shoulder.

"I see. Did you know Cole was the _only_ destroyer present on this base before the two of you arrived? She's been pulling her weight quite spectacularly, as I'm sure you would have been doing if you were in the same position. I'm sure you can understand why she might get so worked over a few words with so much responsibility in her hands, right?"

"Yes..." is the quiet response.

"Good, then let's just put this little incident to rest for now. The two of you can resolve it on the practice field tomorrow if you'd like. With the amount of work the two of you put in I'm sure it would be good to find out just how you stack up against someone similar."

Cole breaks out into a smile at Carter's suggestion. "Oh, I'd love to go head to head with her. I'll show her who the shitty destroyer is!"

"I'd like to see you try, you shitty destroyer!"

"That's not even original!"

A quiet rustle of cloth next to Carter is the first sign of the battleship's presence.

"I was quite ready to step in and handle this myself, Admiral," Endeavor says with a small smile.

"I know, but it just isn't right if I don't do my own job at least every once in a while. Besides, I'm sure Midi would do well to have a little talk with you later. She's a bit stressed out right now."

"I'll go handle that now then. Do try to keep those two from destroying everything on the practice grounds, Ajax just finished getting it into top notch shape, Admiral."

"No promises."

* * *

 **There we go, part 2 of Rear D Fleet.**

 **My take on Akebono is heavily influenced by the series "Akebono and the Shitty Admiral", where Akebono is presented as someone who is a hard worker, and always ends up using harsh words instead of saying what she really means. I wouldn't call her a tsundere in this case, more tsunshun I believe.**

 **Just a heads up that putting out chapters at this rate will NOT be normal. I usually write everything out by hand, and then end up basically rewriting everything. So. Yeah. A bit time consuming.**

 **Anyway, leave feedback or ask questions if you've got any.**


	3. Chapter 3

**KanColle isn't mine. Doesn't stop me from wishing it was.**

 **AN: I had initially thought about making this a humorous kind of story, and I may still keep it that way, but I realized that due to the nature of Carter's girls, their pasts were inevitably going to get certain degrees of dark, so I'm not sure how harsh the mood whiplash may get as the story progresses. I will guarantee this though, I'm not CURRENTLY planning any character deaths. :trollface:**

 **So, uh, yeah, this took way longer to get out than it should have. I would blame work, but I've had tons of time to do it still. I can only really apologize for being lazy.**

* * *

Memories are a strange thing. They come and go as they please, often bringing joy or sadness. No matter how painful the memory, the worse pain is in never remembering. The girls at Rotuma have a unique pain however, that of trying to forget they have nothing to remember.

* * *

"This isn't my sister." The scathing words were spat out by an angry and confused cruiser. "Admiral, you said you'd summoned a _Pensacola_. This... thing, isn't Salt Lake City."

"Pensacola, she said-"

"I don't care what it said, it isn't my sister."

The subject of the discussion stood by passively, showing no emotion, giving no response to the verbal abuse being directed at her. She had introduced herself only as a _Pensacola_ -class upon her summoning, not giving a name. It was simple enough to assume she was Salt Lake City, the second _Pensacola_ , the other half of the two ship class which had yet to be summoned. The reaction which was occurring upon introducing her to her assumed sister was not the expected result.

"Pensacola, please, stop, I'm sure there's jut some sort of misunderstanding," the Admiral pleaded with the cruiser. "Stranger things have happened on summoning, and we may just need to check with the other cruisers to see if she belongs to their classes."

"No, Admiral, that won't work," Pensacola said with an edge of steel to her voice. "Let me tell you something, that thing gives me the same kind of feeling in my gut as when I see an abyssal, that same feeling of disgust. I don't think you understand how hard it is for me to stand here and not be getting ready to blow that thing away with my guns. Whatever you people summoned, you need to deal with. I doubt everyone will have the same degree of restraint when it comes to this thing."

.

The vehement rejection by Pensacola, and the later arrival of the real Salt Lake City with the next summoning, sparked a storm of mass speculation over who, or what, the mystery cruiser was. Both _Pensacola_ s denied having any idea who she was, with Pensacola threatening physical harm is they ever brought her near them again. The _Northampton_ s tried to stay as far away from her as possible without being obvious about it, but Louisville was helpful enough to point out her gun turrets were of _New Orleans_ vintage. In turn, Quincy was adamant about the mystery cruiser's superstructure being that of a _Pensacola_ -class, which brought the initial investigation to a halt.

Inevitably, as knowledge of the strange cruiser spread, so did the rumors, not helped by an off-hand statement from Pensacola which related the feeling she had around the cruiser, and the way the Northamptons, and shipgirls in general, avoided her. Prominent among the rumors, and building on the way the mystery cruiser seemed to be a combination of different ship classes, was one claiming that the summoning had gone horribly wrong, and that they had somehow summoned an abyssal princess. Reactions to the rumor were, surprisingly enough, mixed among the shipgirls. " _The potential princess wasn't trying to kill anyone, and it meant there was possibly one fewer princess to encounter while sortieing, and she may even be willing to help with princess level firepower_ ," was the line of thought among those who saw it as a potential advantage. They felt the problems of working with the mystery cruiser could be overcome in light of the potential advantages. There was another group of a more instinctive, " _it feels like an abyssal, kill it with fire_ ," attitude regarding the cruiser, as well as the usual wait-and-see group.

There were efforts to quash the rumors, especially regarding the cruiser potentially being an abyssal princess, but all rumors were still treated as potential theories as to what the cruiser was. After all, when it comes to dealing with "Sparkly Magical Shipgirl Bullshit", all possibilities must be accounted for. That meant tests of several kinds, all bringing about results which didn't answer any of the questions everyone was asking. The mystery cruiser was a shipgirl as far as the tests could tell, but she definitely was not any kind of shipgirl which had been seen before. There had been cases of prototype ships or ships scrapped before launch being summoned, but this was nothing like that. A further obstacle was the near blank slate the cruiser had arrived as. Nothing in regards to memories or personality which could provide an insight into who or what the cruiser was could be extracted in one-sided interviews.

Progress remained at a standstill in regards to learning more about the cruiser for several months, however during that time, Wichita, a bit of a mashup cruiser design herself, had managed to begin socializing the cruiser to a degree where outright hostility had at least been replaced with begrudging tolerance of her presence on base. Among the most important parts of Wichita's work was giving the mystery cruiser a name, Midlothian, which, while not one of the names of any cruiser which had served with the US Navy during the Second World War, still fell within the naming conventions of US cruisers, being the name of a city in Texas, as well as several smaller communities in the United States. Being a sole ship of her class, Wichita adopted Midlothian as a substitute sister of sorts and, as a result, the strange cruiser began to pick up elements of Wichita's personality as her own persona was forming, though in a mirrored fashion. Where Wichita was easy going and light-hearted, Midlothian was businesslike and serious, and the resulting minor tiffs and arguments which started to break out did more to help build Midlothian's image as a normal shipgirl, rather than the oddity she had arrived as. Nevertheless, the instinctual dislike most other shipgirls felt ensured Midlothian remained an outcast at the naval base.

The change which ended this situation came from among the veritable horde of American destroyer shipgirls, in the form of one _Gearing_ -class destroyer, who claimed to bear the name of a _Wickes_ -class four-stacker who had already been summoned. An attentive young ensign had picked up on the discrepancy and also had the presence of mind to bring the existence of another odd shipgirl to attention of the authorities handling Midlothian's case. There was great interest in Cole, especially concerning why she had arrived with a fully formed personality and identity, whereas Midlothian had arrived as a blank slate. It was decided to move Cole into the same tiny unit occupied by Midlothian and Wichita, where the interactions between the two odd ships could be observed.

* * *

"So... you're Midlothian, that cruiser everyone has been talking about?"

The pause between the question and the response from the heavy cruiser is at least mildly unsettling for Cole, while Wichita glances between the two.

"Yes, I am heavy cruiser Midlothian. And you are... a destroyer, yes?"

A noticeable look of pride spreads on Cole's face, as the destroyer leans forward in obvious excitement.

"Oh, and don't you know it! But not just any destroyer! I'm a _Gearing_ -class, the best of the best!"

"The _Fletcher_ s might disagree..." Wichita mutters, loud enough for Cole to hear, but the destroyer doesn't seem to miss a beat.

"There's some heroes in our ranks, y'know, like Laffey!"

Midlothian cuts off Cole before she can go any further. "Laffey, the second, was an _Allen M Sumner_ , not a _Gearing_ , Cole."

"Ah... oh..." the destroyer managed to stammer out, her demeanor dropping quite sharply. An almost palpable aura of disappointment begins to grow around Cole, causing Wichita to intervene.

"Well, to be fair, the _Sumner_ s are just shorter _Gearing_ s, and are a bit older, so you could say they're all just your older sisters by class," the heavy cruiser says with a grin, which inexplicably, is both comforting to Cole, and irritating to Midlothian.

"In any case, this isn't what we're here to talk with you about," Midlothian said, cutting off any further tangential discussion.

"Ahem, uh, yes, let's cut to the chase," Wichita adds, casting an apologetic sideways glance to Midlothian. "Cole, I want you to tell us anything you remember about your service."

"My service? Like, as a shipgirl, or as a ship, 'cus if you mean the second, isn't that kind of personal?" Cole replies, looking at Wichita with a slightly puzzled expression on her face.

"Yes, we'd like to hear about your previous life, Cole," is the answer to the destroyer's question, delivered by Midlothian.

"Uh, sure, I guess I can tell you about it," the _Gearing_ -class says, a bit hesitantly. "I was... uh... t-this is embarrassing, I'm drawing a blank on my own history for some reason. I should know this, why can't... why can't I remember?"

Midlothian and Wichita share a knowing look between the two of them before getting down to business handling the increasingly agitated destroyer.

"Cole, you didn't have a past life, not as far as anyone can tell. You're in the same situation as I am," Midlothian says, bluntly stating what she wishes to convey.

"Goddamit, Midi, I thought that look we shared meant we were going to do this smooth and steady!"

"Wichita, this isn't a night with your boyfriend."

"Wat."

"Nothing." Midlothian coughs. "Cole, you aren't one of the vessels commissioned by the United States Navy. You're like me, an anomaly."

"No no no no, all my sisters-"

"Cole, have you been paying attention at all since you've been summoned? None of the girls you call your sisters even speak with you," Wichita says with unexpected force, cutting off the panicky destroyer. "The Navy is going to be separating you from the rest of the force. They're doing the same with every shipgirl they find who's the same as you and Midlothian."

"What are they going to do with us?" asks the destroyer. "Scrap us? Experiment on us?"

"I don't know. We're being sent to some backwater island, that's all I know," Midlothian responds.

* * *

The Rotuma training grounds were normally empty at this time of day. Instead, two destroyers were about to be put through their paces, hopefully so they could set aside their disputes and become a functioning destroyer division. Both destroyers stood at the starting platform, going through preparatory stretches and movements, while the other shipgirls and kanmusu of Rotuma stood by on the pier.

"Loosen up a little, Fubuki."

The special type destroyer couldn't help but jump slightly. "Ah! Midlothian-senpai, I didn't realize you were there."

The _Pensacola_ raised an eyebrow. _She's saying she didn't realize I was here? When everyone is here? This some kind of Japanese quirk or something?_

"It's alright. I heard what the Admiral said about Akebono. If that's true, then she and Cole should get along fine. Once they get the initial spat out of that that is."

"I'm just embarrassed that she's causing problems already," Fubuki sighs resignedly.

Midlothian is only half listening to Fubuki when she catches a glimpse of the torpedo launches on Cole's rigging. "Oh god. Cole went and did it."

"Eh? She did what, Midlothian-senpai?"

"She swapped out her Mark 15 torpedoes for Mark 17s," responds the cruiser, not taking her eyes off the _Gearing_. "They're, and I'm going to be frank about this, pretty much equal to, if not better, than your Type 93s."

"How so?"

"They're powered by Navol, concentrated hydrogen peroxide, so they don't leave a trail in the water, just like your torpedoes, but they don't need to be charged by an oxygen generator before being launched. Their warheads about the same size too. They never were used during the war, but there was a stockpile of them, so I guess Cole took it upon herself to start using them. She probably wanted to upgrade her torpedo performance in preparation for working alongside you guys. She's a smart kid."

 _Eh? So Cole-san was actually planning ahead for when we got here..._

* * *

"Ready to get your ass handed to you, Bono-chan~?" Cole asks with a taunting lilt.

"I'll shut up that fat mouth of yours you shitty American," the _Ayanami_ -class responds.

"I heard you only call things you love shitty, Bono-chan~. I'm flattered."

"Are the two of you ready?" Midlothian shouts from the pier.

"Yes ma'am, destroyer Cole is ready to sortie!"

"Destroyer Akebono, ready to sortie!"

"Very well. Begin!"

* * *

 **Yeah. A cliffhanger. I'm sorry. Sort of.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Finally getting back into the step of things. I spotted a few more follows and favorites than last time, so that's encouraging. I'm actually a little bothered by the ending of the last chapter, so I may end up changing it later on. For now, let's just get on with the 1v1 practice battle between the** _ **Ayanami**_ **-class destroyer (sub-class of the** _ **Fubuki**_ **-class depending upon who you ask), Akebono, and the** _ **Gearing**_ **-class destroyer, Cole.**

* * *

If either destroyer had hopes to end the battle early, during the opening shelling phase as they close the distance between each other, they are sorely mistaken. Cole holds the advantage in firepower, as her radar-directed 5-inch guns begin bracketing Akebono, her turrets firing in sequence, forcing the Japanese destroyer to begin quickly altering course, hoping to at least gain slight respite from the shellfire. The American destroyer can't help but grin slightly though, as the Mk37 Fire Control System within her rigging tracks her opponent with computerized efficiency. Akebono responds with a hurried salvo of her own, trying to find the range of the _Gearing_ , which falls short. Her next salvo passes over Cole's head, to Akebono's frustration, as her own firing solutions are thrown off by her maneuvering. Nevertheless, Cole also fails to score any hits, despite having Akebono on the back foot.

"If they don't close the range soon, this is going to keep dragging on, to Akebono's detriment," Midlothian mutters, loud enough for Fubuki to overhear.

The Special Type destroyer can't help but agree. As one of the minority of destroyers who actively read about the capabilities of foreign vessels after the first such ships arrived in Japan, Fubuki has at least a general understanding of the advantage United States Navy ships hold in fire control.

"Neither of them are capable of launching an accurate torpedo attack like this either," Fubuki comments. "Akebono-san can't hold a targeting solution long enough to fire a spread, but at the same time Cole-san can't guarantee a hit against a maneuvering target like that."

A guarantee of scoring a hit isn't what Cole is looking for though, as she acquires a targeting solution from her Torpedo Director Mark 27 and fires the Mark 17 torpedoes from one of her pair of quintuple launchers.

 _Torpedoes serve a primary and secondary purpose… destroying the target, or limiting its movement…_

As soon as Akebono spots Cole's torpedoes hit the water, she realizes what makes them much more dangerous than the usual American Mark 15s: the lack of wake thanks to their Navol propellant. With no wake to spot the incoming torpedoes, Akebono is chooses to turn into the attack, rather than continue evading the shellfire, and hope she avoids taking a hit directly to the bow, she'd rather not learn about the Mark 17's enhanced warhead too, even if it is just a practice battle.

Forced into a predictable course, Akebono takes a shell hit to one of her torpedo launchers, but is fortunate enough to only have it knocked out rather than detonating the torpedoes. Still, losing a torpedo launcher is preferable to taking a torpedo head on, and Akebono avoids the spread, much to Cole's frustration. Akebono uses the moment's respite she gained by dodging to launch torpedoes of her own from one her remaining triple launchers, while also firing her main battery. The Japanese destroyer doesn't have a perfect firing solution for her guns yet, but her shells are falling uncomfortably close, before finally beginning to bracket Cole in return. Despite each having the right range for their main batteries now, Akebono still feels some mental pressure from the sheer rate of fire the _Gearing_ 's guns are able to achieve.

"You shitty destroyer, you still can't get any more hits on me even with all those shells you're shooting at me!" Akebono shouts, using her taunt as a way to calm herself just as much as actually directing it at Cole.

"That so? You haven't even scored a single hit yet!" replies Cole, while using the twin rudders of her class to turn sharply into Akebono's torpedo spread.

Cole's change of course begins rapidly closing the distance between the two destroyers, and both increase the intensity of their shellfire. Akebono scores her first hit as the distance closes, holing one of Cole's funnels and spraying fragmentation over one of the American destroyer's 20mm AA gun positions.

* * *

"If they get much closer than they already are, Cole will probably end up pulling out one of her special tricks from her sleeve," notes Midlothian, standing behind Midlothian and Fubuki.

"Eh? What kind of trick do you mean, Horizon-senpai?" questions Fubuki.

"You know about the Bofors 40mm gun, right?" inquires the American cruiser.

"Yes, it's the heavy anti-aircraft cannon used on your ships," replies the Special Type destroyer.

"The Bofors fires a pretty big shell for an automatic anti-air gun, so it has a bit punch to it, and a respectable bit of range," explains Midlothian. "Some of the girls throughout the navy are known to use them to spray enemy superstructures at very close range. Doesn't cause the most damage, but it does degrade the enemy's ability to fight effectively. It works even better for the girls who have 3-inch 50 caliber guns for heavy AA."

"Um, when you say superstructure, do you mean…"

"The face, yes."

"Ehhhhh…"

* * *

The steady thunder of main battery fire being exchanged between the two destroyers in suddenly accented by the rapid fire sound of AA cannon fire from Cole's 40mm Bofors guns. A spray of 40mm shells strikes Akebono in the face, causing to suddenly flinch away, throwing off both her aim, and her evasive maneuvering. Taking advantage of the distraction, Cole dashes in, bringing the twin 5-inch gun in her hands up and pointing it directly at Akebono's face.

"Heh, gotcha," Cole says with a smirk.

"Not quite you shitty destroyer," Akebono responds with a smirk of her own.

Cole glances down, seeing Akebono's final remaining torpedo launcher, primed, aimed, and ready to launch.

"A tie?" asks Cole, raising an eyebrow.

"If that's what you want to call it," responds Akebono. "Not as shitty as I thought."

* * *

With both destroyers having avoided any serious damage in the course of the practice battle, the combined group of shipgirls and kanmusu make their way to the base's recreation room, where the rest of Rotuma's compliment of shipgirls have been wiling away the day.

"Where'd you learn to dodge shellfire like that, Bono-chan?"

"Lots of hard expeditions and escort missions gone wrong," replies Akebono. "My shitty Admiral always says he, 'didn't expect things to go bad', but it happens way too often."

"Akebono, I know you've already met some other members of the base, but the introduction wasn't the best, so we'll be doing it properly this time," interrupts Midlothian, pausing in front of the door to the recreation room. "Try to behave yourself."

"I will you shitty cru-"

"We'll both be on our best behavior!" Fubuki interjects, stepping on Akebono's foot to cut her off.

Midlothian opens the door, revealing a scene of chaos.

* * *

Lying across the sofa in the back of the room, Horizon is stretched out on her back, desperately holding back a much larger woman, who is apparently attempting to mount the large cruiser. Silently observing from a seat on the floor with a sort of empty interest is Autumn, unsure of whether to intervene, as both the larger girl and Horizon send entreaties for assistance her way.

Meanwhile, sitting in front of coffee table cluttered with various mechanical parts and pieces of paper is a girl of smaller build than Midlothian, but of older appearance. She wears a set of grey overalls with top half down and the sleeves tied around her waist, exposing a white undershirt slightly stained with oil and grease, with just the barest hint of a sports bra visible through the undershirt's fabric. She casts occasional amused glances towards the scene on the sofa, but keeps to herself, tinkering with what appears to be an anti-aircraft mount of some kind.

In a lounge chair, nearer the door to the rec room, sits a rather short woman. She appears mildly irritated by the ruckus on the sofa, but also seems to be slightly resigned to the whole situation. She is also the only one in the room to acknowledge the arrival of Midlothian and the trio of destroyers, directing her gaze towards the cruiser and giving an exaggerated roll of the eyes.

"Ahem." Midlothian clears her throat in an exaggerated manner, catching the attention of the occupants of the rec room. "If you'd all be so kind as to cease your current activities, I'd like to introduce our two newest arrivals."

"Well~, aren't they just a pair of cuties~," the woman who had been attempting mount Horizon says, eyeing the two Japanese destroyers in a way which sets them on edge.

"Everest, not now, not ever," says the woman in the lounge chair.

"So, these are the girls they sent us?" asks the girl at the table.

"Yes, they are, now, if you'd all be so kind as to quiet down long enough to let them introduce themselves," Midlothian says with a glare.

With no further delays forthcoming, Fubuki steps forward and salute, causing some in the room to raise an eyebrow, as saluting indoors is not normally authorized under US Navy regulations.

"My name is Fubuki, first ship of the _Fubuki_ -class Special Type destroyers! I will do my best to work alongside you!"

Akebono is next, stepping forward a bit more grudgingly, but receiving a thumbs-up from Cole as she does.

"My name is Akebono, eighth ship of the _Ayanami_ -class Special Type destroyers… I-I'll try not to call any of you shitty."

Midlothian nods in satisfaction to the two destroyers, before turning to her fellow shipgirls.

"Now then, it's all yours' turns."

The introductions by the Americans start off with the woman in the lounge chair.

"My name is Endeavour, of the _Nevada_ -class Standard Type battleships. I mainly take care of the living quarters and supplies. My speed isn't high enough to keep up with the fleet most of the time, but it does mean there's always a full battery of 14-inch guns at the base if the Abyssals ever mount a raid."

Next is the girl at the table.

"Yo, name is Ajax, second ship of the _Vulcan_ -class repair ships. Do all the same jobs as the other repair ships at other bases, so if you need anything fixed or equipment developed, I'm the girl to do it. I'm actually working on something right now to see if we can fit any-"

"Not now, Ajax," interrupts Endeavour.

"Ah, right, sorry. I can just get really into when talking about equipment. I mean, equipment if what can make the difference between living and y-"

"Ajax!" barks Midlothian.

"Sorry, sorry, I'll shut up now," the repair ship replies, holding up her hands in surrender.

Autumn goes next.

"Hm~, my name is Autumn of the uh… _Baltimore_ -class heavy cruisers. Let's all be friends, m'kay?"

After pushing off away the woman who had been harassing her, Horizon introduces herself to the destroyers.

"Um, my name is Horizon, of the _Alaska_ -class large cruisers. Ah, I'm not a battlecruiser though! Despite what people say and my 12-inch guns, I'm a cruiser, I promise. Oh, but my guns have just as much armor penetration as the older 14-inch guns used by the Standard Type battleships, so don't underestimate me!"

Not leaving any time for the Japanese destroyers to process Horizon's introduction, the dangerous to their chastity looking woman goes next.

"My name is Everest, of the _North Carolina_ -class battleships. I hope we can all becomes best friends~. Stop by my room anytime you like, hm~? I'd love to show off just how _great_ I can be, hm~."

"Everest," Midlothian says flatly.

"Yes?"

"No. Statutory rape is a thing."

"Aw~."

 _Are we going to be safe with that woman around here?_ Fubuki and Akebono think simultaneously.

* * *

"So, how are the girls settling in?" asks Admiral Carter, as Midlothian enters his office.

"Well enough," responds the cruiser. "Cole and Akebono seem to have at least bonded over almost blowing each apart in their practice battle. Endeavour has her hands full stopping Everest from trying to… well, you know how Everest can be."

"Yes, we're all quite aware of how… touchy she can be at times," Carter says with a sigh.

"Autumn and Horizon haven't done much more than introduce themselves so far, but they're both rather private people. I'm more worried about how much of their time Ajax is spending," continues Midlothian.

"What's our repair ship up to this time, eh?"

"She's working on a way to refit Bofors guns to fit their AA positions. It's a worthwhile project for sure, she's just trying to do too much of it all at once. I'm working on seeing if I can convince her to work on a temporary refit of 20mm Oerlikons in place of their pretty crappy 25mm guns, along with the fire control systems for them," Midlothian explains. "At the very least it will help lighten some of the logistics load. It's not we can't supply the ammunition for the Japanese weapons, but it does strain the supply fairies a bit. There's also, the-"

"Midi, it's alright. We have plenty of time to work all this out before the next convoy passes through for escort duty. Relax, take a breather. I know even you need to take a break from time to time."

"But, sir, I-."

Admiral Carter cuts off Midlothian's protest, "Midi, don't make me make it an order."

"Yes sir, understood," Midlothian says with a sigh. "I don't suppose I could get a stateside pass?"

"Don't push your luck."

"Understood, sir," the cruiser says with a grin.

* * *

 **WHOO! CHAPTER 4!**

 **Combat is going to be quite technical in this fic, and national flavors of the navies will be retained, even if at the detriment of kanmusu combat performance compared to shipgirls.**

 **plox don't hate me for that**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Going to a chapter focused on Cole, Fubuki, and Akebono this time. To be honest, a lot of the fic probably will, because even when the other additions to the kanmusu compliment at Rotuma arrive, they're going to be torpedo focused ships, as that's what US force there is primarily lacking. Don't worry though; I will do some chapters focused on the capital ships. Midlothian, being the de facto secretary/admin ship will probably appear in one way or another just about every chapter. It's not like she's my favorite or anything! Fubuki may or may not be senpai-sexual in this fic. Oh who am I kidding? Of course she is.**

* * *

"Ueh… I know we're supposed to be working together, but I didn't know that also meant we'd be getting shoved into the same room too," Akebono says, standing in the doorway the shared room for destroyers in the dormitories.

"You could choose to have a room of your own if you want," Cole says with a shrug. "I've been the only destroyer here since the start, so there are plenty of extra rooms in the wing set aside for destroyers."

"No, that's alright, Cole-san, really," replies Fubuki. "We shared rooms in the destroyer dorms back in Yokosuka, so this is normal."

"We shared room with our division-mates, Fubuki-san, not just any destroyer we happen to be on the same base with," gripes the _Ayanami_ -class.

"Ah, you didn't hear, Akebono-san?" Fubuki asks. "We've been organized into Destroyer Squadron 1 (Provisional) by the Admiral."

"Riiiight… anyway, Endeavour already took your bags from the cargo the convoy you arrived with dropped off, so they should be in the footlockers near the empty beds," Cole explains, pointing to a pair of beds with untouched sheets and folded blankets on top of them. "We have about an hour of time to ourselves before dinner is served at the mess hall, so I figure we may as well get to know each other a bit better than the introductions you all gave to everyone."

"What is there to tell? Don't you think you're prying a bit too much into people's personal business, you sh-, Cole-san," Akebono says, barely catching herself before calling Cole a, "shitty destroyer", again. As she does, Akebono opens her footlocker to check on her bags.

"Eh? I didn't pick your for the cutesy pink bunny type, Bono-chan~," teases Cole, looking over top of Akebono's shoulder.

The _Ayanami_ -class slams the top of the footlocker closed, almost visibly bristling as Cole's words. "I-It's just something from one of my division-mates, y-you shitty destroyer!"

Cole responds by bodily leaping onto Akebono's back, throwing her arms around Akebono's neck and rubbing her cheek into the Japanese destroyer's. "Aw, you really do love me Bono-chan~!"

"Get off, you shitty destroyer!"

* * *

 _The two days later_

"Midlothian has been off duty since yesterday and for today, so I'll be the one delivering your mission briefing," says Endeavour, looking down at a clipboard which holds the details of Desron 1 (Provisional)'s first mission. "A minor convoy of supply vessels bound for Australia to rendezvous with a larger group on the way to Japan will be passing through our area of responsibility. Reports indicate the convoy's size falls beneath the threshold seen for major attacks by Abyssal forces, but the possibility for smaller raids by PT Imps or enemy destroyer groups is still present. As such, Desron One, Provisional, is to be assigned as the convoy's escort. Weathers conditions are forecasted to remain clear for the duration of the mission, but a squall may be inbound by the end during your return leg of the trip, back to base. Any questions?"

"No ma'am!" responds Fubuki with a salute.

"I've actually been meaning to correct you about that, Fubuki-chan," Endeavour says with a small chuckle. "Technically, the only ones on Rotuma with rank are the Admiral and Ajax. The rest of us are what the Navy refers to as 'provisional shipgirls', so we never actually received official rank."

"Don't overthink it," Cole whispers to Fubuki.

"She's bound to end up overthinking it even if you tell her no to," mutters Akebono, standing behind the other two destroyers with her arms crossed. She learns down and whispers into Cole's ear, "and whatever you do, don't let her decide you're her senpai."

"What was that, Akebono-san?" asks Fubuki.

"Nothing, it was nothing."

* * *

The group of four ships Desron 1 (Provisional) is responsible for are a pair of bulk cargo container ships, a refrigerator ship, and a liquid natural gas carrier. The group had been delayed in leaving the US Pacific Coast, and was now scheduled to meet up with the rest of the convoy's main body in Australia. Escort duty for the convoy is handed off to Desron 1 (P) by a quartet of destroyer escorts, let by the _Fletcher_ -class destroyer, Stanly.

"Well, if isn't Cole. Surprised command still even sends supplies your way," Stanly says with a barely hidden sneer towards the _Gearing_ -class. "Not so surprised to see you're working with Jap destroyers though."

"What did you say you shitty destroyer?" growls Akebono.

"Akebono, let it slide," says Cole, motioning with her hand for Akebono to back off.

"Oh, wait, don't tell me no one told you Japs why those things at Rotuma are kept separate from the rest of us shipgirls?" asks the _Fletcher_.

"Stanly, shut up, now." Cole delivers the words forcefully, staring down the other American destroyer, while the destroyer escorts remain by the cargo vessels. "Stop wasting both of ours' time and let us get on with this escort mission."

"Jeez, fine, fine, whatever you say, Princess," Stanly replies with a malicious grin, seeming to take extra pleasure in the way Cole bristles at the term "Princess".

The rest of the handover of responsibility for escorting the convoy goes as smoothly as could be expected, despite the hostile tension between the American destroyers. Fubuki and Akebono are left with plenty of questions about their squadron mate though, with Fubuki being especially curious about why calling Cole, "Princess", would bother her so much.

* * *

It isn't until approximately an hour into the escort mission, with no Abyssal incidents, and all three destroyers in their assigned escort positions, that Fubuki broaches the question which had been weighing on her mind since the encounter with Stanly.

"Anno, Cole-san, what did Stanly-san mean when she was talking about you being separated from the other Americans?"

Cole grimaces upon hearing the question, but relents with a sigh before responding. "I suppose you and Bono-chan deserve to know at least that much about me if we're going to be a Desron together. I'm sure the two of you understand summoning or at least the basics of it, put resources in, get a shipgirl who served in or very near World War Two out, right?"

"Uun."

"The summoning for all of us at Rotuma went wrong, according to some people. Others say they worked perfectly fine, but just grabbed the wrong ships. The problem boils down to none of us at Rotuma having a real ship which was our historical predecessor," explains Cole, scanning the horizon of her assigned watch sector.

"Eeeeh? So, that's why all of you have names which don't match up with normal naming patterns," Akebono muses.

"It goes a bit further. Take Midlothian, for example. She's technically a _Pensacola_ -class heavy cruiser, but she has all kinds of upgrades and refits which were never applied to the real _Pensacola_ s," Cole says, expanding upon her explanation.

"Like her 3-gun mount turrets, right, Cole-san?" asks Fubuki.

"Exactly, like her gun mounts, and her armor too. The other _Pensacola_ s are pretty fragile in the armor department, but Midi has armor more like new heavy cruisers. She lost some speed in exchange though, but I don't think she minds too much," responds Cole with a shrug.

"Um, there's something else I wanted to ask you about, Cole-san," Fubuki relays with some reluctance. "It's about what Stanly-san called you, and the way you reacted."

Cole doesn't say anything as Fubuki speaks, but she visibly tenses up. The Special Type destroyer opts to push forward anyway, despite silent signals Cole is putting off telling her to let the issue go.

"Why is it that you were so bothered when she called you, 'Princess'?"

The American destroyer clenches her teeth and glares at Fubuki for a moment. Her expression softens quickly, but it was enough to clearly unsettle the Japanese destroyer. Akebono, who saw the murderous expression on Cole's face as well, feels her hand tighten around the handle of her hand-held gun turret, wondering in the back of her mind if a fight is about to break out among their Desron.

"The circumstances of our summoning led to rumors… rumors and theories about what we really were." Each word seems to be forced out by the _Gearing_ -class destroyer. "Tell me something, if you were to summon a kanmusu at Yokosuka who didn't have any memories of their past life, and didn't even have a past life which belonged to them; if they only could express vague feelings of emotion, sometimes regret, sometimes anger, sometimes hate; if you were to have such a kanmusu arrive at your base, what would you think she was?"

Fubuki, quickly arriving at an answer, suddenly feels her face drain of color, but doesn't speak the thoughts within her mind, something holding her back. Akebono doesn't feel the same inhibition, however, and blurts it straight out.

"I'd think we'd have accidently summoned an abyssal or something."

"You and many others, Bono-chan," Cole says bitterly. "As far as some of the shipgirls back in the States care, all of us at Rotuma are something like Abyssal Princesses who were summoned by accident."

'They're wrong, right? I mean, it's just rumors, isn't it?" Fubuki asks, starting to put distance between her and Cole without meaning to.

"Who knows? They've never been able to confirm or deny anything other than us operating like other shipgirls," responds Cole with a cold voice. "Which means the only they've learned is that we also work the same way as abyssals."

An awkward silence spreads over the convoy escort group; with both Fubuki and Akebono no longer sure of how comfortable they are working alongside the American destroyer.

* * *

"So the destroyers are out on an escort mission?" Midlothian asks, taking a seat on one of the lounge chairs in the Admiral's office, rather than the chair directly opposite the Admiral's behind his desk. In the privacy of the office, with no one around to interrupt for the time being, both the cruiser and her Admiral drop much of the formality between them.

"Yes, they've been assigned to take over escort duty for a small convoy bound for Australia. It's a milk run, and should give them an opportunity to refine some of their formation work out on the water," Carter responds. "If there is any abyssal contact, it will be small groups of destroyers at most."

"It's been nice seeing Cole spend time with some friends." Midlothian has a small smile on her face as she speaks. "She's normally alone all the time, spending her time practicing."

"I'm more surprised by how well she's been getting along with Akebono," Admiral Carter says with a chuckle. "I had heard her use of the term, 'shitty', could mean a lot of things, but I'm inclined to believe that my friend in Yokusuka told me."

"And what was that, Admiral?" questions Midlothian.

"Shitty is a term of endearment in Akebono's vocabulary." Admiral Carter delivers his answer with a completely straight face.

"I am inclined to believe what your friend says," the cruiser says with a smile, which quickly fades. "Are you going to keep refraining from telling the arrivals about why we're sent off by our lonesome selves all the way out here?"

"I leave telling people about the truth up to you girls, Midi. Under the circumstances you have had to endure, I feel it's only proper that you and the others get to choose," Carter replies, his previous mirth evaporating. "Not even Endeavour knows as much about you girls' circumstances as we do. I've told you, you can tell the others everything."

"Yes, you have."

"But you haven't."

"No, I have not."

"Why?"

Midlothian averts her eyes away from her Admiral. "Endeavour… would be able to handle the truth, but she'd never be able to keep it secret from the others. I think Autumn would be fine, but, again, she would never be able to keep it to herself. I don't think Horizon would be able to handle the truth. As well as she performs in combat, she's fragile outside of it. As for Everest… I suspect Everest would fully embrace it, and probably end up… well, it'd be for the worst. Cole has probably figured out the truth on her own by now, or at least has suspicions, which I don't plan on confirming for her, not yet at least."

"You've certainly thought this over, Midi," Carter muses. "I leave it at your discretion."

"Thank you, sir."

* * *

 **Yup, another chapter posted. My posting will probably end up being rather bursty, so bear with me and my writing habits.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Tons of support guys, thanks for all of it. I'm really enjoying the work I'm putting into this story now. I can't guarantee any kind of regular posting schedule, but I won't be leaving the story on such a long hiatus as I did previously.**

 **(insert usual ownership disclaimer here)**

* * *

"So, you two are the girls who everyone has been chattering away about, hm~?"

A heavy steel door closes behind an American destroyer and cruiser, locking them inside the heavily reinforced cell used to hold shipgirls who represent a danger to themselves or others. Heavy, shipgirl quality, steel chains are attached to the walls and ceiling, leading to a single individual retrained in the center of the room. All this security was in place to restrain a single prisoner, a single shipgirl, a single battleship.

"Unknown battleship of the _North Carolina_ -class," begins the cruiser, "you were recently charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault, assaulting a superior officer, multiple counts of attempted murder, multiple counts of destruction of federal property, and… multiple counts of sexual assault."

Behind the cruiser, the destroyer shifts uncomfortably as the list of charges are read out. Of the shipgirls inside the cell, only she carries any weapons, a full load of Mark 15 torpedoes. They have one purpose, to provide a way to destroy the prisoner inside the cell, while being unusable by the prisoner themselves.

"My, my, if you have all the records on that, you must be here for something important, hm~?" The source of the words is barely visible among the chains restraining the battleship, but the cruiser can see the glint of their eyes, staring at the two ships. "So tell me, just what are two 'princesses' here to discuss with this 'demon', hm~?"

"We are here to offer you a second chance. My name is Midlothian, _Pensacola_ -class cruiser, and senior shipgirl with the Experimental Summoning Program. I have been authorized to offer you conditional pardon for all charges, in return for your complete cooperation with the ESP."

"And who's the small one, hm~? She looks just wonderfully adorable."

The destroyer can feel a shiver go down her spine, as even the gaze of this battleship alone makes her feel… unclean.

"If you are going to decline this offer, then we're done here. I will inform the Master at Arms, there is no longer any objection to your scrapping and execution," states Midlothian, making as if to mark something off on her clipboard.

"Now, now, let's not be hasty, hm~. I never said I was turning you down," replies the battleship. "There is just one question I'd like you to answer before I give you my response. Does this program of yours, need the strength to kill?"

"Yes."

* * *

"I'm picking a weak return on air-search radar," reports Cole, finally breaking the silence which had been stretching on torturously since the last conversation between the destroyers. "Are either of you picking up anything? I may be getting a false positive."

Fubuki glances up at the sky for several moments. "I'm not picking up anything yet, Cole-san. Whatever you're picking up, it's probably not in range of my own radar yet."

The American destroyer nods in response. She had momentarily forgotten about the shortcomings of Japanese radar. There would be no way of confirming her radar contact until it arrived within range of their radar. Still, it was only a single air contact, possibly a civilian airliner, as air travel had not been disrupted in the way sea travel had. The alternative, however, was more worrying, as a single air contact could be a floatplane launched by an enemy ship, which would mean an abyssal of light cruiser class or larger, or a scout plane from a carrier, potentially close enough to threaten the convoy.

"Contact is to the northwest; assume a preparatory formation on the northwest side of the convoy and prepare for potential enemy contact," Cole orders. "It could be a surface or air attack, so be prepared for either."

"Hai!"

The waiting is tense, but as the radar contact refuses to disappear, Cole becomes certain the threat is real, and everything is only confirmed when Fubuki and Akebono report conact on their air-search radars as well. For a moment, the radar contact disappears, and is then replaced by a cluster of incoming returns on the radar.

"Incoming air attack!" shouts Cole, to her comrades as well as the ships of the convoy.

With the rise of the abyssal threat, even civilian vessels carry at least manually operated light anti-aircraft guns, with some even receiving old 40mm and 76mm gun mounts salvaged from the Mothball Fleet. Crewmen aboard the freighters rush to man guns mounted at the bow and stern as general quarters is sounded aboard the vessels. While the success rate for anti-air weapons aboard escorted vessels is low, they often manage to at least fill the air with enough lead as to give shipgirls defending them a far better chance to shoot down the abyssal attackers.

Far off in the distance, silhouetted by the clouds, Cole spots a cluster of dots, the enemy aircraft being tracked by her radar. She prepares her main battery, loading them with VT shells, while mentally cursing that she's going to bearing the brunt of the work facing down the abyssal aircraft. The anti-aircraft weapons of the Japanese navy were frankly awful, and Cole didn't expect her squadron mates to contribute much more than fancy tracer fire.

The first abyssal fighters close in on the convoy, leading the bombers in for their attack runs, and are met with black bursts of smoke, spewing fragmentation into the air. There aren't as many aircraft would be in a strike by a fleet carrier abyssal, indicating the attack is coming an abyssal light carrier of some sort. Cole's shells are joined by Fubuki and Akebono's, but the slow rate of fire from the Japanese destroyers means the majority of the damage to the incoming aircraft is caused by Cole's proximity fuzed shells. Many of the aircraft are at least struck by the incoming fire, with some falling into the sea while trailing streams of black smoke. As the distance closes, Cole's 40mm Bofors guns, manned by her fairy crew, open fire. The aircraft are not yet in range of Fubuki and Akebono's own 25mm guns and both destroyers watch nervously as the bombers move closer. Normally, they wouldn't feel the apprehension they do, but only being able to fire off periodic main battery salvoes, while someone else is putting out the majority of the anti-air fire as they wait causes a growing feeling of nervousness.

' _Ajax-sensei said she was working on a way refit our riggings to use VT shells and add some improved AA directors. We'll be able to help out more in air-defense. I bet even Akizuki will be jealous.'_

The Japanese destroyers open fire with their batteries of 25mm guns with the range now proper. With the number of aircraft thinned out by Cole's fire, even the relatively ineffective, compared to the 40mm Bofors, 25mm guns put up enough fire to begin knocking abyssal dive bombers out of the air. The merchant marine vessels make themselves known as well, their Marine gun crews opening fire with the longest ranged of their available weapons, some salvaged 3-inch/50 caliber guns capable of firing VT fuzed shells. While not as effective as shipgirl weapons, human weapons which function using WW2 era technology or similar are still capable of damaging abyssal ships and aircraft. This same reason is why the remaining ships preserved by the United States from WW2 were being refurbished as rapidly as possible, but that's beside the point.

With a single light carrier's worth of aircraft attacking the convoy, and not in very coordinated fashion, the combined AA fire of the three destroyers and the cargo vessels manages to drive off the enemy aircraft, with the worst damage being fragmentation by a near-miss from a bomb striking one of the container ships.

"Radar shows they're pulling away, probably regrouping at their carrier," reports Cole. She falls silent for nearly an entire awkward minute, holding one hand to her ear, seeming to be listening to some kind of incoming message. "Surface radar isn't picking up anything, so it must have just been an aerial raid. Once we get back to base, we'll be home free; a second escort group will be taking over for us and covering the rest of the convoy's route to Australia."

"Isn't that an awfully short escort mission for us to be responsible for?" questions Akebono. "Do they not trust us to handle this job or something?"

"Akebono-san is right, Cole-san, this is an awfully short escort mission," says Fubuki.

"Ah, right, I forgot the two of you aren't keyed into the SIPRnet yet. Might be hard to integrate you guys into actually, not without a CIC," explains Cole. "There was a message from base. Apparently something important came up, so command diverted an RAN escort group to take over for us."

"What kind of thing happens way out here that's more important than escort missions?" asks Akebono with mild irritation.

"Oh, I don't know maybe like, assassination?" Cole states with a straight face.

Dead silence falls over the destroyer squadron.

"What." There isn't even a question mark behind Akebono's word.

"Joking, I'm joking."

' _For some reason I have doubts about that actually being a joke,'_ thinks Fubuki. _'but there's no way she's actually serious.'_

* * *

Admiral Jacob Carter rests his elbows on his desk, steepling his fingers and looking at the trio of shipgirls in front of him. The sheaf of papers laid out on his desk has been shuffled to one side, with his computer monitor now taking front and center.

"I've already informed Cole about what's coming up, so you'll all be able to get started as soon as she gets back to base. I don't think it needs to be explained that our guests are not to be informed of this mission. They'll be remaining in the rear for the time being," briefs the Admiral.

"Of course, sir," responds Midlothian, casting a sideways glance towards Autumn, "I'll make sure of it."

"Right then, moving on," continues Carter. "We got a call from the JMSDF contingent based in Sasebo; they've had an incident with one of their destroyers. Reports are that the destroyer's conditioning started breaking after a squadron of our destroyers passed through, towing several PT dogs. On base services had the situation under control, but during an emergency operation alongside a group of Standards from the local US contingent, it appears conditioning broke completely. Two battleships, West Virginia and Maryland were struck by torpedoes, confirmed to be friendly fire. The destroyer responsible has not been seen since the battle, officially, she's been sunk, unofficially her transponder has still been active."

Carter pulls up a map on his computer screen, turning the monitor around for his shipgirls to see.

"As you can see, she's managed to travel further than her fuel load should have allowed her to, so we can assume this goes beyond just broken conditioning," Carter says gravely. "Command has authorized us to enact contingency operations if necessary, but a peaceful resolution would be preferred; the JMSDF would rather not lose one of their lucky ships. Again, I am going to reiterate, our Japanese contingent, _must not_ know. Our work is already more complicated than it needs to be thanks to their mere presence, don't make it any harder."

"Understood, sir," says Everest, in one of her few moments of serious demeanor. There's an unusual light in her eyes as she eyes the picture of the destroyer in question on Carter's screen. "I assume I'll be responsible for the contingency plan?"

"Yes, you and Autumn will be the contingency group," replies Admiral Carter. "Midlothian, you and Cole will be making initial contact, while Horizon provides distant overwatch. This is our first time performing a recovery operation in several months, but I trust all of you to perform as usual. Midlothian, you have on-site command, Horizon, you'll be second in command."

The briefing breaks up, as the shipgirls leave to make their preparations for the operation. Midlothian earmarks some supplies in her ledger to set aside a stockpile of ammunition and fuel for rapid resupply of Cole upon her return, and passes off the paperwork to a trio of fairies who salute and respond with tiny "hey!"s, and a single squeaky "hooyah!". The cruiser leaves the fairies to deliver the report to their counterparts at the resource warehouses, and makes her way to her rigging in the armory to perform pre-mission checks and maintenance.

 _Pre-mission jitters are normal, everyone has them, and everyone SHOULD have them, especially before a mission like this. So why am I feeling so_ _ **excited**_ _?_

* * *

 _I'm… I'm disappointed… I'm disappointed… in you guys…_

* * *

 **AN: yeah. Sorry. I couldn't resist the lure of the grimdark. Grimdark for everyone! I'll be disappointed in you guys if it took you until the final line to figure out who the rogue destroyer is.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Lazy author's note is lazy.**

 **Kancolle isn't mine. The OCs are. So. Yeah. Whatever.**

 **Oh, right. Just because someone's POV says something, doesn't mean it's true.**

* * *

"I'm sorry about leaving the two of you behind for this, Fubuki-chan, Bono-chan, but it's an emergency search and rescue mission for an MIA shipgirl," explains Cole between mouthfuls of fuel-soaked food. "You guys haven't been trained up on the proper procedures, search cordons and patterns and the like, but I think you will later."

Admittedly, Cole is mostly bullshitting her Desron-mates. The mission she's resupplying as rapidly as possibly for is less "search and rescue", and more "armed asset recovery". She certainly isn't planning to tell them they're looking for a kanmusu. Letting them assume it's an American ship involved by using the term shipgirl instead makes things easier for everyone involved.

Meanwhile, in the back of Fubuki's mind, she can't help but take note of the sheer amount of food Cole is managing to consume. She had an inkling of an idea of just how much fuel a _Gearing_ -class destroyer could carry, but seeing Cole-san eat enough to be good sized meal for a light cruiser is still slightly surprising.

"Oi, Cole-san, if this is a search and rescue, why are you bringing along two battleships for it?" asks Akebono.

 _Two? I thought we were just bringing Ev- OH!_

"Uh, Horizon isn't a battleship, you know," replies Cole, "she's what our navy calls a Large Cruiser, though others argue she's a battlecruiser. Anyway, we're bringing Everest and Horizon because it's a long trip out to where we last heard the missing shipgirl was, and they're big enough to provide underway replenishment if it becomes needed, especially for the shipgirl we're looking for."

"That makes sense," says Fubuki. "If she's been missing since the last battle like you said, then she'll be in serious need of resupply, and I suppose when you have ready access to supplies, using a larger fighting ship for underway replenishment is more efficient than having a supply ship who needs to be escorted along the way."

"Yeah, not to mention we're going almost out to far limits of my round-trip fuel load into waters which aren't patrolled regularly. There's a pretty high chance of running into enemy ships on the way, and the missing shipgirl might be fighting for her life when we get there," Cole adds grimly, finishing off a pan of cornbread to end her meal. A quick wipe with a handkerchief is all the time she has to clean up before setting back off towards the pier, where the rest of the task force for this operation is waiting

"Yeah, well, good luck, you better come back," says Akebono with slight hesitation.

"Un! Cole-san, ganbare!"

* * *

"Are we ever going to let those two in on the real missions we do around here?" asks Cole, her question directed at Midlothian, as the task force sets sail from the pier.

"That's up to the Admiral, but most likely not. If the JMSDF fleet at Yokosuka had sent us some of their own asset recovery personnel, then definitely, but they didn't, and I doubt either of those girls has clearance," replies Midlothian.

Cole is about to say something, but then Midlothian continues with a final part to her thought.

"Though, now that I think about it, Fubuki is supposedly one of the earliest kanmusu to arrive in JMSDF service, so there's a pretty good chance she'll eventually be let in on the secret by the Admiral."

Cutting a bit of power to her turbines, Cole allows herself lag a little until she's alongside Everest.

"Do you think she'll fight when we find her?" asks the battleship.

"Have we ever found anyone who hasn't?" Cole answers Everest with another question.

"Let me rephrase my question. Do you think we'll have to sink her?"

"That's her decision to make," Cole replies, her hand moving to check the fuze on one of her torpedoes.

* * *

Shigure is lost. She is lost, frightened and scared. She has run away from the battle; a coward. Worse, she has attacked a comrade; a traitor. Now she is lost, wandering the vast empty waters of the Pacific. She can feel a gaping emptiness inside her fuel bunkers, yet somehow her turbines are still running, driven by some unknown energy encroaching upon her mind and body.

She has never hated anyone before, not like she does now. Why do she and her comrades have to relive those nightmares again? What right do _they_ have to force her to fight alongside the same ones who had slaughtered her friends in the past?

The kanmusu's mind is an angry swirl of emotions, such that she doesn't realize the approach of a group a ships until they've already surrounded her, and one of them speaks.

"Well, it looks like you aren't a complete loss, not yet anyway," the strange ship says, eyeing Shigure with a critical gaze.

Instinctively, Shigure jumps back, away from the speaker. She curses her inattention for allowing a group of ships to ambush her at such close range. As she takes in the situation she's found herself in, she realizes she wouldn't have stood a chance even if she had known the enemy was approaching. By some twist of fate, within the empty stretches of the ocean, visible to both her own eyes and her fatigued fairy lookouts, she has encountered a combined group of Princess-class abyssals. It had always been believed there was potential for the intelligent classes of abyssals to work together and cooperate both in and out of combat and the theory had been just about confirmed by cases of paired Princesses and Demons working together in combat. Now, however, the lost destroyer is seeing something unprecedented, but she doesn't stand any chance of escaping, not when she is surrounded by the enemy, not when she has betrayed her comrades already.

"Alright, if you aren't going to speak with us, if you're even still able to, that's okay. You can just listen to what I've got to say to you, assuming you can understand me," says the apparent spokesman for the abyssal ships. "You have two options at this point. One: you can return to Japan as you are, we'll even escort you back, and you can face whatever consequences are waiting for you. Two: you can come with us and we can help you."

The destroyer, aware of her empty torpedo launchers, their reloads expended during her betrayal, and with less than half a load of ammunition, knows she can't fight to escape the ships surrounding, but she doesn't, there's no way she could, trust these abyssals to actually let her go back to Japan. At the same time, she's heard rumors about what kind of horrific things happen to kanmusu who are captured by the enemy.

 _But is it being captured if I go along with them willingly? No! What am I thinking? But I've already betrayed my comrades; maybe this would be for the better. Could I ever risk facing my old friends in the future? No. I can't go back. I can't go with the enemy. I deserve to sink. I deserve to sink. I deserve to sink_.

Shigure clenches her hands tightly, taking stock of her own position compared to the enemy's. A heavy cruiser princess and a destroyer princess are the closest to her, with some kind of battlecruiser or battleship sort of princess slightly farther away. With her lookouts informing her of another two still unidentified ships off in the distance, the kanmusu acknowledges that she is guaranteed to sink in the coming fight. A single destroyer against 5 princesses, and not a single one of her comrades was at risk.

 _Maybe this is atonement?_

"She going to fight," says the destroyer princess. "What's the plan?"

"The usual," responds the heavy cruiser princess, "destroy the weapons, then the propulsion if we have to, we'll tow her back if it's necessary, just like always."

 _They've captured other kanmusu before… I won't let them take me!_

The enemy heavy cruiser makes the first move, slamming her turbines to full power and pushing her rudders the entire way aside to get herself broadside to the exhausted kanmusu. If Shigure had any torpedoes, the enemy heavy cruiser would have been signing their own death warrant, with no chance of dodging a spread of torpedoes, but with her torpedoes exhausted, the kanmusu is instead faced with a broadside of 8-inch guns at near point-blank range. Before she can attempt to decide her best choice of direction for dodging, her attention is divided by the sound of the enemy destroyer's guns opening fire.

Shigure drops low and pushes her tortured turbines to their limit, avoiding the majority of the enemy's salvo, but feeling burning pain as a single shell strikes the side of her face, adding to the agony coming from her exhausted muscles and empty fuel bunkers. Continuing along her low dodge she makes a hurried return shot with her own back mounted cannons, her eyes going wide as she catches sight of the heavy cruiser's guns finishing their traverses to aim at her. In response, the kanmusu makes a brutal crash stop, forcing her turbines far too quickly into full reverse and throwing her rudder all the way to port. The thunder of nine 8-inch guns firing comes almost simultaneously as the sensation of wind passing by her face.

Almost in passing, Shigure takes note of the fact that rather than closing to join the fight, the enemy battlecruiser is instead apparently moving at top speed to intercept the distant pair of ships her lookouts had spotted, not identifiable as a battleship and another heavy cruiser. There isn't any time to think on the abnormality though, as the enemy destroyer continues to pour fire towards the kanmusu. With her turbines screaming in displeasure, Shigure attempts another forced dodge, only for her left foot to slip out from under her as one of her boilers overpressures and steam lines burst. The 5-inch shells tear into Shigure's rigging, destroying the right barrel of her back-mounted cannons, and throwing her off her feel and onto her knees. She flinches as the explosion throws fragments into her face, snarling to return fire herself and finally scoring a hit, striking the enemy destroy in the face and causing a visible spray of blood and oil as the shell tears through her eye.

"Fuck! That hurts!" shouts the destroyer princess, and for a moment, Shigure allows herself to feel some satisfaction.

Her elation is killed almost as quickly as it's born, as the enemy heavy cruiser dashes in and closes the range before she can react. Shigure feels a rib crack as the cruiser drives a knee into her side, before a hand grabs her by the throat, lifting her into the air and throws her bodily several meters across the ocean's surface.

* * *

"Everest, you know the drill, stay back unless the situation gets out of hand," warns Horizon after steaming at near top speed to intercept the battleship and Autumn. "Cole and Midi can handle themselves."

"I'm aware. I'm not some mindless killing machine, you know," replies Everest with a wry smile. "I'm a perfectly mindful killing machine."

"Oh… it looks Cole just got hit…" Autumn notes quietly.

"Eh? Knowing Cole, it should be fi-…" Horizon's voice trails off.

"Well shit. She finally snapped," says the battleship, not taking the situation quite as seriously as she should. "But this is Midi we're talking about, it's not like she's going to-"

Everest's words are cut off by the sound of a full salvo of 8-inch gunfire and the ensuing explosion.

"Everest, Autumn, follow me, now!"

* * *

As the smoke clears on the water, the rest of the task force looks on with varying expressions: Everest bearing a pained expression of disappointment, Autumn and Horizon with looks of horror, and Cole making an expression of grim acceptance while staunching the blood flowing from her wounded eye. Barely afloat, missing her legs from just above her knees, Shigure stares in frozen terror past the barrels of Midlothian's guns, into the heavy cruiser's eyes where a ghostly blue flame wisps from her left eye.

"Midi," says Cole, "that's enough. It's just a scratch, and the target has been subdued."

The American destroyer turns to Horizon. "Grab the target and hook her up for towing back to base. Per discretionary orders issued by the Admiral, I am taking command of this operation.

She then returns her attention to Midlothian, who has finally lowered her weapons. "In accordance with Special Order Eight, Cruiser Midlothian, you are to immediately surrender your weapons and stand by to be escorted under armed guard for return to base. Will you comply?"

The flickering blue light from Midlothian's eye fades away, leaving behind what could be mistaken for just a trick of the light.

"Understood," says Midlothian with a melancholy sigh. "In accordance with Special Order Eight, I, Cruiser Midlothian, will comply."

Everest pulls alongside the heavy cruiser, deploying a boarding party of fairies to take control of the other shipgirl's weapons, and prevent her from lashing out if she attempts to resist. At the same time, with assistance from Autumn, Horizon sets about preparing the gravely injured kanmusu for return to Rotuma. Armed fairy boarding teams are sent to seize control of all critical systems still intact within Shigure's rigging. Even if the now barely conscious destroyer had wanted to continue to fight, now she wouldn't even be able to so much as attempt to scuttle herself.

Cole stands over Shigure's body, eyeing the kanmusu for several seconds before speaking.

"You know, if any other group of shipgirls had found you in the sorry state we did, they would have sunk you on sight," the American says coldly. "Whether you get hard scrapped or not once we get back to base will be up to you."

Shigure doesn't bother to meet the other destroyer's eyes, instead seeming to retreat within herself and becoming even more unresponsive than before.

"I see," states Cole, disappointment thick in her voice. "I'm sorry it had to be this way. I hope it doesn't end the same way."

Cole then turns her attention to her long-range radio set.

"Admiral, this is Cole. Cruiser Midlothian has been declared unfit for duty in accordance with Special Order Eight, and I have assumed command in place of Cruiser Horizon, at my discretion, per your standing orders. The target has been subdued with critical damage, and friendly forces have only sustained superficial damage. Please have Vulcan standing by for our arrival."

There is a long pause before Admiral Carter responds.

"Roger. Complete the operation as required. Once the target is handed over the Vulcan with Horizon and Autumn as escorts, you and Everest are to escort Midlothian to me office. Understood?"

"Yes sir, understood."

* * *

"So Midlothian was the first one to actively show signs of abyssalization?" asks Vulcan, looking up from her notebook. "Damn, looks like I lost the bet. My money was on Everest."

"Vulcan, when we made that bet, I was joking."

"Tch, you're no fun, Endeavour."

* * *

 **AN: Yeah. I still got nothing.**


End file.
